Discarded pressure cooker causes shutdown near Kenmore Square

An apparently discarded pressure cooker caused a massive police response and the evacuation of an area near Kenmore Square on Thursday.

Pressure cookers were used to pack to the bombs detonated at the Boston Marathon. Credit: Metro File Photo

An apparently discarded pressure cooker caused a massive police response and the evacuation of an area near Kenmore Square on Thursday.

Police were called to the area near the Bowker overpass and Charlesgate East near Storrow Drive about 11:30 a.m. for a suspicious package.

State police, Boston police and fire crews, and the state fire marshal's office responded to the scene. Multiple roads in the area were shut down as police kept people and traffic away. The police response and road closures created traffic problems in the area.

State police said about 12:40 p.m. that most of the roads were reopening and that the "device" was disabled with the help of Boston police.

The device appeared to be a discarded pressure cooker, state police said later, and did not appear to be an explosive device.